Chapter 1240: Terror on the Sea

"Brother Lin, let's go too."

Ling Feng shook his head. He had no real bond with the other Human Emperors. If they followed Zong Lian and got themselves killed, that was their own problem.

After all, his stock of elemental force restoration pills was limited. The fewer people he had to carry along, the lighter his burden.

When he finished speaking, the four of them moved in unison, unfolding their movement arts and speeding northward.

On the reef, only Zong Lian's group of five Human Emperors remained. They all turned toward him and asked in deep voices, "Master Zong, what do we do now?"

"That kid's words were half true and half false," Zong Lian muttered, brows drawn together. "But if treasure hunting is our goal, heading north should be correct. We'll move northwest."

In his plan, Lou Qianzhong should have joined his team. That would have been the most advantageous arrangement. Unexpectedly, Lou Qianzhong had acted on his own and chosen to travel alone, leaving their formation significantly weakened.

Still, with four Human Emperors in his group, he at least had a few shields to take the first hit if danger struck. That was good enough!

Thinking this, Zong Lian's lips curved faintly. "Rest assured," he said. "I am an alchemist. My supply of pills is more than enough to sustain us until we leave this cursed place. Following me is your smartest choice."

"

Haha,

I knew sticking with Master Zong was the right move," said President Fang, grinning like a bootlicking dog.

"Let's move!"

Zong Lian waved his sleeve and shot northwest into the sky. The others exchanged glances and followed after him.

...

Meanwhile, Ling Feng's group.

"That old bastard Zong Lian! May he die a miserable death!" Lan Yuhuang was furious, clenching her teeth as she glared at Ling Feng. "Fatty, why didn't you say something to defend us? You just let that shameless old man slander you!"

Ling Feng's face remained calm. "I already told you, anyone who doesn't trust me isn't worth convincing."

After a pause, he flicked his wrist. A flash of light came from his storage spirit ring as he took out more than a dozen bottles of pills. "Here," he said. "Four bottles each. Even if you eat them like candy, they'll last a month. You won't have to worry about running out of elemental force."

"Wow!"

Lan Yuhuang's eyes lit up. Her anger vanished in an instant. "

Haha,

not bad, fatty. I didn't think you were hoarding so many pills. And here I was worried we'd be running short!"

Then she pouted. "Those idiot Human Emperors following Zong Lian will be lucky to get one bottle each. If they do, I'll admit defeat!"

Ling Feng chuckled and shook his head. That was just how Lan Yuhuang was, but having her around at least kept the team from feeling too grim.

"Brother Ling," Lin Mu said with a serious tone, "these are sixth-tier medicinal pills. They can restore nearly forty percent of elemental energy in a short time. They're extremely valuable!"

Lin Mu was an inner disciple of the Dongling Immortal Pool and had sharp eyes. Seeing so many precious pills at once was truly shocking.

"It's fine," Ling Feng replied, rubbing his nose. "These were just things I made for practice."

When he used to study alchemy with Yan Cangtian, they often worked through the night. Materials were abundant, so they refined batches upon batches of pills, many of which Ling Feng had never used.

He hadn't expected them to become so useful now.

Just then, the clear sky above suddenly dimmed. In the blink of an eye, day turned into night. The heavens were pitch-black, without a single star in sight. The sea below was shrouded in total darkness.

Ling Feng summoned the Devouring Flame to light their way.

Tuoba Yan looked up and said in alarm, "Something's wrong with this space's alternation of day and night."

"I can feel it too," Lin Mu said, his brows tightening. "That unpleasant aura is getting stronger." His sword emitted a faint blue glow.

"It's the same presence we sensed on the island before," Ling Feng said quietly. "The aura of those creatures, and it's much stronger now!"

He drew a deep breath. Those man-eating cultivators had mutated, growing wings and fangs, losing all trace of humanity. Ling Feng preferred to call them monsters rather than human beings.

"

Ahhh!

"

Suddenly, two screams pierced the silence, echoing one after the other.

They came from miles away, but Ling Feng's senses caught them clearly.

Tuoba Yan and Lin Mu heard them too. Only Lan Yuhuang, whose spiritual sense was weaker, seemed unaware.

The voice was unmistakable. It belonged to President Fang.

They had separated less than fifteen minutes ago, yet the other team had already run into disaster.

Whoosh!

A streak of shadow flashed by. It was Lou Qianzhong, returning from the direction of the screams.

Clearly, he had heard them and turned back to investigate.

When Lou Qianzhong saw Ling Feng's group, his expression darkened. "Kid, you weren't lying," he said grimly. "This place truly crawls with danger. Come on, let's take a look!"

Ling Feng frowned. Even if they didn't go, he could already guess what had happened.

If Zong Lian died, it would serve him right.

But Ling Feng gazed deeply at Lou Qianzhong's retreating figure. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow him to see what would happen.

Traveling at their speed, it took barely any time to reach the source of the screams.

What they saw made their scalps prickle.

The sea below was stained dark red, reeking of blood. On a jagged reef ahead lay a splattered mass of flesh. What was left was a body crushed by impact!

Ling Feng focused his gaze and recognized the tattered robes.

It was Zong Lian!

Even worse, he wasn't quite dead. His upper body still twitched on the rock, his blood-filled eyes wide with horror. With trembling hands, he reached toward them. "Help... me... there's... a monster..."

Before he could finish, his voice cut off. He was gone.

Lan Yuhuang gagged, nearly vomiting.

In any other moment, she might have mocked him for getting what he deserved. Now she could only tremble, her face pale.

Zong Lian might have been despicable, but he was still a mid-tier Human Emperor. For someone like him to be killed so swiftly was horrifying!

Just how powerful were those man-eating monsters Ling Feng had described?

Ling Feng's face turned grim. Even when he extended his spiritual consciousness and used Boundless Vision, he couldn't detect any trace of the monsters.

That could only mean one thing. They had evolved to the point where they could completely conceal themselves from spiritual perception, able to approach unseen.

That kind of hidden threat was what truly inspired fear.

Terror that seeps into the bone!